Revised Video

Hi everyone!

I am hoping that you have been able to get lots of solid feedback on the rough draft of the first educational video, and that you are finished or nearly finished with the revision. Reply to this post with a link to the revised piece, and make sure you have followed the instructions on the course wiki (http://summer1video.wikispaces.com/Class+Schedule) about the details of what is required this week.

For the final video, you want to get your ideas together as soon as possible. Try to get ahead with your planning in order to give yourself plenty of time to experiment with ways of making your videos all the stronger.

Some of you have already sent me your revised video using the format we identified - thanks! In a reply to this post, provide a link to your blog with the revised video and anything you might want to say about it.

Keep pushing yourself - we're in the homestretch!
Rushton

The First Educational Video

I've been in New York a little more than two days (at the time of writing), and am having such a good time! Meeting the Half Hollow Hills group Thursday was great - I was impressed with the discussion and enjoyed getting the chance to take part. East Enders, I'm sorry I couldn't visit your group, too. That said, so many of you EE folks came to the Marratech session Monday, that I felt I was able to get to know you, as well.

Yesterday, I worked with about 300 of the teachers in the Bureau of Nonpublic Schools, who provide Title 1 support to students at private schools in the city. I'd been warned that this was a crowd that would eat a speaker alive, so I'm glad to be able to wake up, stretch, and post to a blog. Seriously, they were a totally fun crowd, with years and years of experience (and some technophobia), as well as plenty of interesting experiences to share.

Speaking of interesting, this week, you are to post some notes on your own blog about the tools/resources/people/divine intervention you will need for the first of your two educational videos. You do not need to reply on my blog regarding that, but by 10p the night before your next class, you should post a reply to this message with a link to your blog post with the first draft of the video. If you haven't already done so, make sure to review the rules (http://nextvista.org/resources/NV_Contributing_Material.pdf), and (as with any tech project,) save your work regularly! We specifiy how you should name the video (see the wiki at http://summer1video.wikispaces.com/Class+Schedule), so please note that as well.

Also remember that the audience for this video is students (youngsters, not you). What can you do to help them better understand something? Are there things multimedia allows you to do that aren't possible in a normal classroom? I'd also encourage you to keep a file with the transcript of your video - posting that with the video (or as part of the video) could make your insights available to a set of kids who otherwise can get left behind in the world of film.

Do the video as early as you can to give others as much time as possible to look at your work and make suggestions for the revision. What you do on the video next week will largely be a function of the feedback you get, so make sure to draw eyeballs to your blog and video.

And Away We Go!

I'm looking forward to reading your outlines! Reply to this post with a link to your own blog posting with the outline you wrote. If you have already done this in a reply to my introductory post, you can just add the link in a reply, and you're good to go. That said, remember that other students will find your outlines to comment on them via the replies to this post you're reading right now, so make sure you're doing what you can to make your invitation appealing! In other words, have fun with it. 8^)

Post away!

Hello, everyone!

I am looking forward to working with you over the coming weeks, and hope that I'll be able to help you see new possibilities for multimedia for teaching and learning.

My name is Rushton, and I teach Japanese at a high school in Santa Clara, California (my course site is at: http://whsnihongo.googlepages.com). I also run a nonprofit called Next Vista for Learning (http://nextvista.org), where we are gathering educational videos by and for teachers and students everywhere - the idea is to be able to share insights and learn from others in a free, screened space. In this course, you will make two educational videos that, if done properly, will be eligible for inclusion in our online library. It's my hope that you'll see these projects as a way not simply to meet a course requirement, but to share something valuable for students and teachers near and far.

Before we do those, though, you'll be asked to make a short video telling a bit about your philosophy on educational technology and its promise for teaching and learning. I've made one for you, and I hope it's something you will find interesting:

http://nextvista.org/rhvideos/RHurley-LIUintro.mov

Finally, a little about myself. My family is my wonderful wife (I married up), our three cats (Chiquita, Flaka, and Gordita), and me. To the right is a picture of Gordita with our Turkish exchange-student daughter, Irmak. I'm into technology, music, juggling and long walks with Tabitha. Each January 1st, we drive up to the Golden Gate Bridge early in the morning and walk over and back - it's quite a crowd on that day.

This coming Monday night (May 11th), I'll be in the Marratech system from 8:00-8:45p to meet anyone with questions about what is on its way for the Summer 1 Video course. I hope to meet some of you then!